Estimation of DSGE Models When the Data are Persistent

35 Pages Posted: 25 Jul 2009

See all articles by Serena Ng

Serena Ng

Columbia University - Columbia Business School, Economics

Yuriy Gorodnichenko

University of California, Berkeley - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: July 24, 2009

Abstract

Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium (DSGE) models are often solved and estimated under specific assumptions as to whether the exogenous variables are difference or trend stationary. However, even mild departures of the data generating process from these assumptions can severely bias the estimates of the model parameters. This paper proposes new estimators that do not require researchers to take a stand on whether shocks have permanent or transitory effects. These procedures have two key features. First, the same filter is applied to both the data and the model variables. Second, the filtered variables are stationary when evaluated at the true parameter vector. The estimators are approximately normally distributed not only when the shocks are mildly persistent, but also when they have near or exact unit roots. Simulations show that these robust estimators perform well especially when the shocks are highly persistent yet stationary. In such cases, linear detrending and first differencing are shown to yield biased or imprecise estimates.

Keywords: DSGE, estimation, persistence

JEL Classification: E3, F4, O4

Suggested Citation

Ng, Serena and Gorodnichenko, Yuriy, Estimation of DSGE Models When the Data are Persistent (July 24, 2009). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1438367 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1438367

Serena Ng

Columbia University - Columbia Business School, Economics ( email )

420 West 118th Street
New York, NY 10027
United States

Yuriy Gorodnichenko (Contact Author)

University of California, Berkeley - Department of Economics ( email )

549 Evans Hall #3880
Berkeley, CA 94720-3880
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.econ.berkeley.edu/~ygorodni/index.htm

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) ( email )

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Cambridge, MA 02138
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IZA Institute of Labor Economics ( email )

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Germany

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